Machine for making cigarettes having filter or like plug or other mouthpieces



Aug. 12, 1952 D. W, MOLINS 2,606,560

MACHINE FOR MAKING CIGARETTES HAVING FILTER 0R LIKE PLUG OR OTHER MOUTHPIECES Filed Oct. 4, 1949 5 ShCStS-Sheet l wwf/vm@ D. LA MN' Aug. 12, 1952 D. W. MOLINS MACHINE FOR MAKING CIGARETTES HAVING FILTER OR LIKE PLUG 0R OTHER MOUTHPIECES 5 Sheets-Sheez 2 Filed Oct. 4, 1949 Aug. 12, 1952 D. W, MOLlNS 2,606,560

MACHINE FOR MAKING CIGARETTES HAVING FILTER OR LIKE PLUG OR OTHER MOUTHPIEGES Filed OC.. 4, 1949 5 ShC"LS-Shee''l 5 Aug. 12, 1952 D. w. MoLlNs 2,606,550

MACHINE FOR MAKING CIGRETTES HAVING FILTER OR LIKE PLUG OR OTHER MOUTHPIECES Filed Oct. 4, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 MACHINE FOR MAKING' CGARETTES HAVING FILTER 0R Aug. 12, 1952 D W MQUNS 2,606,560

' LIKE PLUG OR OTHER MOUTHPIECES Filed Oct. 4, 1949 5 Shcets-Shee 5 y .37 Y wann;

Patented Aug. 12, 1.952

y M'ACHIN FOR MAKING CIGARETTES' HAV- ING A.FILTER OR `LIKE PLUG OR OTHER MOUTHPIECES .'DesmondWalter Molins, Deptford, London, England, -assignor to Molins `Machine VCompany Limited, .-DeptforijLondom England, a British Gompany -Applicationoctber 4, 1949, Serial No. 119,468

InGreat Britain .October 11, 1948 This 'invention :concerns improvements in :.'or

relating to machines for makingrcigarettesghaving filter or like plug or other mouthpieces ofthe kind .in which alternate lengths .of rmouthpiece material, such as iplug zvmaterial, and 'tobacco ller are .enclosed `in ia .Web of cigarette. :paper to form a continuous irodi-from 4which .cigarettes provided with plugspr .other fmouthpieces yare cut. Such machines will ifor :convenience .be Ieferred to herein as "machines fof thekindreferredto.

. Plugs are often made :of crepe paper orulike material, `and some include 'absorbent material and are then known as .filter plugsfor sometimes as filter `tips but forxclearnessl'allkinds of mouth.- pieces (including :hollow tubes.) intended .towbe enclosed .with .tobac'co iin :a .paper Wrapper to form a mouthpiececigaretteiwillbe.'.termedhereafter stubs It has been proposed/.to employfanintermittently rotating drumWhichhaslperipheralA bores, into each of .which vin turnlislinserted a stubby means of a reciprocating :plunger orfthe like which thrusts a stub lengthwiselintoalbore when the latter is at an appropriateposition. Each'bore in turn .having thus :received a'lstub, isi-brought into line .with a .moving tobacco lilleniandithe stub and a portionzoffthetobacco 'll'ersare moved through and koutof l.the bore Lend to end. "The tobacco .ller .is severed to @separate fthe section which remains in Jthe `vbore .from 'the `rest of the filler, and the separated sectionfis removed `out of line with .the filler-by `a rotary movement-of the drum. The same .rotary movement of the drum bringssafurther bore,fcontainingsaffurther stub, into line withltheller so that the stub can replace .the removed ltobaccosection. 'The latter is ejected axially from .thelboreffor example 'by means of `a reciprocating `plungerforby a fresh stub being inserted. .i

An object of the'inventioniisto provldea machine of the kindrreferred to .which can. operate at a higher speedthanrexistinig machines.

Accordingto the present invention-,there :is provided apparatus for'making"cigaretteshaving mouthpieces wherein there is provided :an intermittentlyrrotatable drum whichiahasfa plurality of ilutes on its periphery, imeansytc insert a-fstub into a flute and means to feedga tobaccovflller axially into and throughl a ilute-whileV the drum is stationary, the arrangement being suchthat on rotation of the druma section of -the filler contained ina fluteisremoved from the ller and is .f replaced on the v`next rotational ,step of the drum, by a stub carried by a succeeding ute.

, stubs cannot movemntilithedrum is quite still.

Thus this apparatus :can '.workat much .greater speed 'than earlier constructions. Moreover flutes can be cleaned easily to eliminate particles :of tobacco :which tend to -gather around the stub and spoil the resulting mouthpiece cigarettes. Where special cleaning means are provided these canactnon-reciprocally. For. example, a brush (e. gfarotatablebrush) .maybe arranged to pass through-a nuts. It will also'be appreciated 'thatby suitably arranging the parts the tobacco in :afllutecan :be caused to fall out kof the fute .by gravity at :a desired ltime, any

residue of tobacco in the 'llutebeing then removed by the cleaning :means mentioned-aboveor by centrifugal Aforce .inizhig'h-speed apparatus. Alternatively 'or .in addition, the. cleaning jmeans may lcomprise 1an. -air `blast directed against a flute.`

When, :as1will usually'bethe case, the flute into which the tobacco .filler passes when the drum 'is vstationary lis the vrone which is at the bottom. of the drum, .at that moment, .means `is provided lforfsupportingthe -ller in position in the flute. Such means may comprisea narrow fixed support or a roller extending -along the flute, `soarranged -as to allow loose particles-of tobaccoto'fall outof theilutes.

Guide tubes may be provided, yone -on each side ofthe drum, to guide' the tobacco ller .into and out-of a flute, 'theends of the tubes being in rubbing lcontact with lthe -sides of the drum so that an edge of a flute rubsagainst each tube end `.when the drumis -rotatedland provides a shearing faction lfor the purpose of dividing 4from the tobacco'ller' the'` section' tof be removed therefrom. The drum may have insets of 'hard-material at 'itheflute edges to rrasist-wear'and im- 'provefthe-shearinglaction .Any known means may be provided Afor supplying f-stubs or -stub f portions I to r`the fluted Vdrum buta preferred form is recited'below. l

There may beprovide'd'feeding apparatus ccmprising a hopperor theflike for containing stock lengthsof stub material,.as hereinafter defined, means for :feeding 'rthe'lengths to .a fluted wheel, cutters-'lco-loperating With-the Wheelto subdivide the lengths and a conveyor adapted to receive sition where stub portionsare received to theV ute next to the tobacco filler.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings which show all the partsfof the machine necessary for understanding how a filler is treated to remove sections thereof and replace them by stubs.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the apparatus and shows also a portion of the cigarette machine. l

Figure 2 is a view of Figure 1 in the direction of the arrow A and. partly in section.

Figure 3 is `av plan of the apparatus shown in Figure 1 and partly in section..

Figure 4 is a view of Va fragment of Figure 3 showing a shield 'in detail which isin section in that figure.

Figure 5 is a view of a fragment of Figure 3 showing the parts more clearly..

Figure 6 is a view of part of Figure 3 in the direction. of the arrow B showing a few parts of the main drive.

Figure 7 is a view of a fragment of Figure 3 showing parts ofthe driving devices hidden in that figure.

Figure 8 is a viewv of a fragmentof Figure 3 showing driving devices for thefiuted drum, said devices being hidden in Figure 3. o

Referring Vto the, drawings, the machine, which closely resembles anordinary continuous rod cigarette machine, isi provided with a tobacco hopper VI in which a shower of tobaccois caused to fall on angendlesstravelling band or tape 2 (hereafterreferred to solelyas a band) which formsthe showered vtobacco into a loose continu-v ous tobacco filler. Y As the remaining part of the machine, to which the apparatus illustrated is tted,is in all respects an ordinarycontinuous rod cigarette making machine further 'descrip-v tion of the hopper is unnecessary as those'skilled 4 well-known shape commonly employed on drums for feeding cigarettes and other rod-like articles, see Figure 2, and the lowest fiute, whenever the drum is stationary is in alignment with the guide tube5. i'

Stub portions are fed into successive flutes of the drum at the upper side thereof in a manner described in detail later and when the drum is stationary the leading end of the tobacco ller passes through .the guide tube 5 and along the lowest flute until, when the leading end is beyond the far side of the drum by an amount equal to a filler portion, the drum moves round one stage (i. egone flute pitch) during which movement the continuous filler is sheared as described later so that the section lying in the drum flute is separated and removed from the rest and the stub portion in the succeeding flute is brought in the artwill -readily understand the showering of tobacco andthefforming of it into a ller, as such operations are fundamental to any continuous rod machine. v

The showered tobacco is conveyed by the band 2 and formed into a filler and compressed by compression wheels 3 and 4 into a moderately compact mass and in that state is fed through a guide tube 5 which terminates flush with the side of an intermittently rotating drum 6 rotatable on a fixed axis 6A.

The thickness of the intermittently rotating drum 6 is approximately equal to the length of two stubs, as the usual practice in making cigarettes of this kind is to assemble alternate double lengths of tobacco filler and double-length stubs, enclose them in a paper wrapper and thereafter to cut the stub and tobacco portions midway to make two mouthpiece cigarettes. For clearness the double length stubs will be called hereafter stub portions and double lengths of tobacco filler will be called filler portions.v

The drum is provided with a number of utes or grooves 1 on its periphery equally spaced and running parallel to its axis. The flutes are of the into position to occupy the space vacated by the removed section. A shield 8 covers the fiutes from the stub portion receiving position to the flute before the one through which the filler passes, to prevent stub portions from falling out of the flutes. .l

At a suitable position above the drum and associated devices described there is fixed a hopper 9 in which stock lengths of stub material are deposited. The stock lengths of material are sufficient to provide six finished stubs and during the process of'feeding lengths out of the hopper they are cut by rotatable knives IIl into three pieces each of which pieces constitutes a stub portion. 'I'he feeding operation may be carried out in any known'way, for example, in the way in which cigarettes are fed out of a hopper by the employment of a fiuted wheel in the utes of which the stock lengths of material successively fall. This is the method illustrated and as seen in Figure 1 the wheel, generally indicated by the reference I I, is formed by a series of four spaced fluted discs so as to provide spaces in which certain devices referred to later may work. The middle discs I2 are twice the width of the outer discs I3 and are peripherally grooved at IIIvtol accommodate thev two circular knife blades I0 which rotate land divide the stock lengths into three equal stub portions. A shield I5 'is provided around one side of the drum to cover the fiutes and prevent stub portions from falling out of the flutes until they reach the bottom level of the wheel. The shield is stepped as shown in Figure 4, in vany suitable manner to ensure that the three stub portions in a flute move out of it one after another. The three steps I6, I1, i8 shroud the wheel utes so that the stub portions cut from one stock length fall into grooves 26 of a support 25 described later with reference to Figure 5 in alignment with pusher faces 28 and 29 and 30 shown therein. Moving fingers or presser's I9 are arranged within the spaces between the fluted discs I2 and I3 and operated by any suitablev mechanism to ensure that the stub portions move out of the utes at the proper time and under proper control. The mechanism shown comprises a cam lever 20 fixed to a shaft 2`I to which the ends of the'pressers Ill-are' also fixed. 'I he upper end of the'cam' lever 20 has a roller 22 on it which is drawn into engagement with a crown cam 23 by a spring 24, see Figure 2. Thus as the cam 23 rotates, the operative ends of the pressers move up and down. The stub portions move down into a grooved support 25, Figure 5, Whose grooves or channels 26 arein alignment with the three corresponding utes 'I v onthe upperfpartof the Adrum 6 wheneverithe latter is stationary and they therefore, fall into ,the grooves or channels of the support in `.a similar larrangement.` As will be gathered from lthe description of feeding and cutting the stock lengths, the stub portions lin .the channels 26 aresspaced by. diiierent distanees from the 'drum 6. It is therefore necessary to movethestub :portions in said grooves by different amounts to feed them into the drum utes Aand thisyoperation 4isfperformed in Athe following way:

A reciprocatingpusher `2l 'i's provided lforpushing :stub portions lengthwise :along the grooves ofthe support and into the flutes `of kthe fd'rum E. Therpusher is stepped las shown'insFigure 5 so'as to have three separate pusher faces 28, 29, and 3u each of which is arranged, on affor'wa'rd stroke of the pusher, to engagethe end of Aafstubpo'rtion. `It will beseenffrom theabove `description and Figuren: that, the three stub :portions which are transferred on to the support at'each 'movement of the wheel are arranged on Ithels'upp'ortin staggered formation. The stepped pusher'fi's arranged to move, on each iorwardstroke, a distance approximately equal to the length of a stub portion, and thus at each v'such stroke it moves each stub portion approximately fone stub portion length forward. The stub Vportion nearest to the drum is thereby moved Ainto aflute of the drum, while each `of the fother 'two stub portions is movedfa stubvportion'length towards the drum 6. The movements ofithe'variousparts are so timed that Whenever three stub portions are transferred Vin staggered formation'onto the support, the pusher moves forward, and it will'be seen that 'after the nrst three strokes, each stroke of the npusher' will cause the three stub portions nearest to the drum @to v-b`e"rr1`0v'ed endwise into three consecutive lfluteslof the drum.

The iiuted wheel I I by which'the stub '-p'ortions are conveyed moves one ute -pitoh for every three movements of the 'drum 6. Thus each time the 'pusher is operated there will be three empty drum flutes 4aligned with the Vgrooves 25 of the stub portion support `25. It fis Vtherefore possible. to convey and lfeed Athe stub portionsat a relatively "slow rate While atfthe same time the drum 6 may be rotated as rapidly as vmay Abe practicable, and 'thus a considerable increased speed in the manufacture of mouthpiece cigarette's may be obtained. Y

At thefar-side of Ythefdrurnfl there is va further guide 3| and beneath the lowest flute there is a nller support `consisting of althin iixedlstrip 32, whereby the continuous filler is supported inthe flute. The guide 3I Vis not a tube but is of inverted 'U shape in cross section "andthe far end is iiared laterally. As shown in Figure 2 the strip '3.2 'is' awide stripbuti't is easy to see that the filler supporting part ofY the strip may be fairly narrow so that dust and shorts can fall away, the precise arrangement adopted dependin'g'on the degree to which the filler is compressed before it Vpasses into the firstfguide tube.

:As the 'drum rotates, Vthe portion of the 'tobacco 'ller contained in the lowest flute, which is at'that 'moment in alignment with the `continuous tobacco filler, 1`is severed therefrom since the two guides V5 and 3I are "very close to the sides of the drum and movement of the latter causes the 'tobacco `tobe sheared. The ends of the guides adjacent 'the-drummay if desired be formed as blocks of considerable area to assist in the shearing action and subsequent 'control of the Tsheared portion. flheaction is not pre` e'i'selya "cutting 'action ibut. 'the ieectio'ns are ire- -moved :from the continuous tobaeoo ller leaving. the filler portion entis--fsiliiici'ently i'clean for .the .purpose iin view. Asthe finte in alignment with 'the Afiller moves outlet line therewith, the succeedingoilute.- which contains ze vst'ub .portion as Ypreviously explained, is brought iiito. that position and as :the fcemes to `rest vthe compressed leading end `Vofl 'fthe "filler imei/es throughthe guide tube `5 pushes fthe vstub portion out of the ffiu'te and passes through @the flute itself. JA's soon :as the nller .has .moved the necessary distance the moves again. and the operation Jd'escrile'ci :is repeated lThe further guide v3LI lleads ilthe filler portions and stub portions on to a paper web 33 uonian endless band 34 which :is the endless .band -or tape on which 'a continuoiiseigaretterod-isiniade on continuous rod Lmachines "and 'which lis hereafter referred to E'solelyas a tape. y

In this manner "the li'ci'efarette paper web '33 which is carried "on `the lil-od orrnin'g tape `34 ofthe machine becomes lloaded with alternate stub portions .and filler portionstand :the fred forming 'tape car-ries 'them through the -usual rod forming Amechanism!.par-t fof which 'fis -indicated at `35 where the paper i's -folded over, gummed and sealed 'and the fresulting rod is thereafter out intocigarettes achprovided with a plug or other mouthpiece.

As soon as a flute containing la 4'iferno'ved. s'e'ction of nller is 'clear of the eforitinuous, rtobacco filler and its conveyor :and otherv devices T.the removed section falls outo the "Hte, or 'may be positively removed, 'whereafter `the Vffiute lis cleaned by an air bl'as't ifrom'an'ozale ``36sothat when it once more receivesJa 'stub .portion there are no fragmentsof tobacco present whichmight later on become trapped between the `stub Aporition andthe cigarette paper wrapper. Moreover by passing the filler through A"the lowest ute of the drum Aany lshortsjare free 'to fall away 'past the filler support S32 which 'supports the filler in the 4:flute if the ls'upport yfis 'made suitably narrow.

fIt is not .always A#necessatry to provide fsp'ec'ial mechanism for cleaning the lutes ias Fthe apparatu's'descrbed can, fon a sntable vcigarette machine, be driven 'at fa very high speed lih which case the centrifugal force fis suflieient'to ning any particles "oi tobacco Yreinaining in fa flute clear of the drum.

The vremaining l'tletalils"o1. ithe apparatus will be referred to 'in the *following description fof the driving devicesmA fsprocket'iwheel 31 l-Figures 3 and '7 is ldriven from anyfisuitable lpart of the lcigarette machi'ne for example from .the hopper driving mechanism, iand `drives a shaft 38. A bevel gear wheel 39 iixed on ther-'shaft 38 drives another bevelig'ear wheel 40 lon :a 'shaft 4 I. The end offthis shaftlwhichiisshownbroken is used to drive other parts of the Acigarette machine and 'is yof `no furtherinterest. A gear wheel '42 is fixed onthefshaft 4i andas:shown in Figure 6 this wheel `drives ia further :gear wheel 43 vwhich drives la slightly larger gear wheel 44, 'these gear wheels 43 'and M `.being also shown inFi'gure 3. The gear'wheel '44 is mounted on a Yshaft '45 linfa special manner as will be described later. 'sprocket vwheel 4E also `mounted von Lth'e `shaft l5 "has a -"chain 41 on it which after passing over 1an idler Isprocket wheel "48 drives a larger sprocketwheel 49 which is mounted on a shaftL 50 fand ioou'ple'd thereto by an Voverloadfclutch'I5`I).

This, Shaft- Sgciliasj fixed 'thereto 'a Worm 5| which:drivesaxwormwheel 52. xed on a shaft 53 onwhich-the aforesaiduted feed Wheel is mounted# The .crown cam 23 is also fixed onv` theshaft 50.: 1A.disc cam54fxed on the shaft 50 engages,l a-ro1ler .55'at the end oi a cam lever 56-pivoted1 at 51'. ,The lower end of the lever `56 is pivoted at 58`to a link, 59 which is pivoted at 60 and 6| `to levers 62 and B3 which are pivoted to a 'frame of the apparatus at 64 and65. V, The freeg ends yof these levers, as best seen, in Figure. 5, are pivoted to the reciprocating pusher.;s2l .,The return of the pusher is effected-',by.a;vspring 66 `Figure l.' and thus the stubs .are fed towards'theiluted drum6 at the proper times.: v I .i

Attherendof the shaft. 33 remote from the wormwheel; 52:;is a'gear wheel 6,1. This drives agsmall` gear .Wheel 68to' which is fixed a larger gear Wheel 69.-- Thelattei` drives a small-gear wheel 'Hl` and through this compound gear trainka small roller 51|.,which is' iluted or serrated as shown'dnzFigure 2 and is driven'to assist vthe `passage vof stock lengths into the iiutes oi the wheel ||,y in the known manner.

On'the shaft 38', Figures 3 and '1 there is also a small `sprocket ,Wheel 12. This is connected by a-chain113 to a similar sprocket wheel 14 fixed toa spindle ijournalled in the frame of the apparatus ashown in Figure 3. At its ends this spindle Vhas pulleys 16 and 11 fixed to it and from each pulleyround belts 18 and 19 respectively drive grinding wheels for sharpeningy the knivesl I0., f

The drive for-one knife grinder v80 is clearly shown in Figure 2,-Wher'e the belt 19 passes over idlers 8| and-.the other drive is identical. On the spindle 15 is, also ilxed a small sprocket Wheel 82 which has aychain 83 on it passing round a further sprocket wheel 84. `The latter is fixed on a spindle 85,-journalled as shown in Figure 3 onwhich the rotary knives I0 are fixed.

Thedrum E is driven by a worm 86, the thread oi which engages with a Wormwheel' 81 geared to the drum by gear wheels 88, 89 and 90, Figure 8, but thevmajor portion of the worm is of zero lead, see Figure 2, so. asqtheworm rotates, the drum movesiwhile the helical part of the worm thread is engaging with the "wormwheel and stops when` the. partA of zero lead comes into engagement-With the wormwheel.

The worm is driven from the gear wheel 44 but interposed between the gear wheel and its shaft 45,` toy which the Worm is xed isa clutch device which Will now be described.

The hubA of the geal` wheel comprises a long sleeve 9| rotatable on the shaft 45 which is rotatably mounted `in bearings as shown in Figure. 2. l

Part of the sleeve 9| forms a journal for a disc or Wheel 92 'whose rim is adapted to form part of a brake so that-When a shoe is applied to the rim, the Wheelis' slightly checked in its rotation as willbe'mor'e fully explained later. A convenient arrangement is, as illustrated, a V groove 93 in the rim. of 'the Wheel 92 and a brake shoe 94, Figurei1,'of11V section. The'wheel 92 has a hub 95 on'the periphery of lwhich is a single ratchet tooth96.-- Coaxlalwith this wheel is another wheel 91whoserimisalso of V section and a brake shoe |91, .Figure 3,' is-al'so provided to engage this rim at times.; ;The second wheel 91 is keyedto the shaft, .see -Figure2, and thus is coupled to the drum." i,

On the second wheel `9,1 isv a pivoted pawl 98 whose end is drawn into engagement by a spring |98 with a ring 99 which is keyed to the gear hub 9| and has a single ratchet .tooth |00 on it. Thus when the gear 44 rotates and the pawl 98 is in engagement with the ring tooth |00, the wheel and the Worm all rotate with the gear 44. The gear wheel has a quadrant shaped slot in it at |0| into which a pin |02, xed in the neighbouring side of the rst Wheel 92, projects. Between said pin and another pin |03 on the gear wheel is a tension spring |04 which bends around the gear hub and tends to pull the first saidpin around the quadrant slot. Normally, i. e. when apparatus is working, the rear end of the quadrant rslot is in driving engagement with the pin |02.

The pawl 98 is wide enough to extend across the ring tooth |00 and the wheel tooth 96 and it is only when these two teeth are in alignment that the pawl can enter into driven engagement with the tooth-ring.

A device is provided for tripping the pawl when it is desired to stop the drum. For this purpose the pawl has a tail |05 and an abutment |06 fixed to a lever |01 can be moved thereby to intercept the tail as the second wheel 91 rotates, and disengage the pawl. The lever |01, as seen in Figure 1, also forms a stop for a bell crank lever |08 which carries the brake shoes 94 and |91 and is spring urged by a strong spring |09. When lever |01 is lifted to cause the abutment |06 to intercept the pawl tail, the lever |08 moves about its pivot and the shoe |91 engages the rim of Wheel 91 slightly before the lever |01 has moved far enough for the pawl 98 to be tripped, so that the pawl is tripped while the brake is on and the second wheel is instantly arrested and thus the worm and the drum and intervening gears are all stopped.

As soon as the pawl is tripped the restraint exercised by the pawl tooth engaging with the wheel tooth 96 ceases and the first wheel 92 moves forward on the gear hub, 9| (i.e. it advances with respect to the gear) under the pull of the spring |04. Thereafter the gear wheel 44 and rst wheel 92 continue to rotate together with the pin |02 in the forward end of the quadrant slot.

When it is desired to restart the drum, the lever |03 is moved in the reverse direction against the tension of the spring |09. This causes the brake shoe 94 to be applied to the first wheel 92 so that. it is retarded and the spring |04 is stretched as the pin |02 moves backwards in the quadrant or driving slot. The lever movement simultaneously releases the brake shoe |91 on the second wheel 91 and permits the lever |01 to drop to the position shown in Figure and the pawl 98 to pivot towards the position where it engages with the tooth |00. This engagement cannot take place until the tooth 96 on the first wheel is in alignment with the ring tooth |00 and at the instant of alignment the pawl springs in and all the parts move in time with the gear thus preserving the original timed relationship of the parts. As soon as the whole device is in operation again the pull on the lever |08 is relaxed and the shoe 94 is removed from its wheel. The pawl engaging abutment may be adjustable so that pawl tripping can take place at any desired position of thepawl as it rotates with its wheel.

A cigarette machinev embodying the device is operated in the following manner. At the starting of the machine the clutch device just described is operated so that the'drum is stationary.

When the tobacco filler is satisfactory and a wrapped rod can be formed and broken off in the customary manner, or even cut into cigarettes if desired, the clutch handle is operated to start the drum, and mouthpiece cigarettes are produced. When for any reason, it is desired to stop the machine the lever |01 is raised and the clutch handle I 08 is urged by its spring |09 to stop the drum whereafter a continuous tobacco ller passes through the drum and the resulting wrapped rod can be broken ofi? or cut up as desired. As soon as the drum stops, the machine may be stopped and such parts of the rod which have been made in the interval between the two movements removed from the normal produce of mouthpiece cigarettes.

Where the drum is uted as in the present case, instead of being provided with bores, the stub portions can be moved axially much more easily into wide flutes than into small holes. Thus both actions are quicker than those in existing machines. The flutes are also easily cleaned by mechanical devices if necessary. Thus owing to the rapid method of feeding'stub portions and discarding tobacco sections the drum can move at a very high speed which not only increases the output but has the further advantage that the forward movement of the continuous filler is scarcely impeded during the very short intervals during which the drum is still.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In apparatus for making mouthpiece cigarettes, the combination with a drum, and means supporting said drum for rotation on a fixed axis, said drum having the peripheral portion thereof formed to provide a series or" axially directed flutes dimensioned to receive mouthpiece stubs, the width of the peripheral opening of each flute, measured circumferentially of the drum. being greater than the stub diameter, of driving means intermittently rotating said drum, means for inserting stubs into said flutes while said drum is stationary, and means spaced circumferentially of said drum from said last means for feeding a tobacco ller while said drum is stationary axially into and through a flute in which a stub has been inserted, whereby the filler moving into and through the flute carries the stub out of the ilute, and stationary means cooperating with said drum on rotation of the latter to shear off a section of the ller lying within the flute, the said rotation of the drum causing the sheared section to be replaced by the stub inserted in the next succeeding flute.

2. In apparatus for making mouthpiece cigarettes, the combination with a drum, and means supporting said drum for rotation on a fixed axis, said drum having the peripheral portion thereof formedl to provide a series of axially directed flutes dimensioned to receive mouthpiece stubs, the width of the peripheral opening of each flute, measured circumferentially of the drum, being greater than the stub diameter, of driving means intermittently rotating said drum, means for inserting stubs into said flutes while said drum is stationary, and a stationary member located adjacent the lower portion of the drum, and spaced circumferentially of the drum from said last means, for feeding a tobacco filler while said drum is stationary axially into and through a flute in which a stub has been inserted, whereby the filler moving into and through the flute carries the stub out of the flute, stationary means cooperating with said drum on rotation of the latter to shear ofi` the filler lying within the flute, the said rotation of the drum causing the sheared section to be replaced by the stub inserted in the next succeeding flute, and means positioned beneath said drum and dimensioned to bridge the peripheral opening of the flute into which the lller is fed, for supporting that portion of the filler which is being fed into and through a flute.

DESMOND WALTER MOLINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,888,805 Peterson Nov. 22, 1932 1,982,292 Granstedt Nov. 27, 1934 2,014,680 Edwards Sept. 17, 1935 2,102,298 Wheeler Dec. 14, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 20,679 Australia of 1934 414,087 Great Britain July 27; 1934 

